by Lukens, Mark
“Do you two drink alcohol?”
“Uh … not really,” Matt said, still afraid of giving the wrong answer, but he was pretty sure most jobs didn’t seek out alcoholics.
“Very rarely,” Gina added.
“Good,” Mr. Yates said and checked off a line on the paper in front of him with his pen.
“So far so good,” Mr. Yates told them and then looked down at the paper again. “Can you two follow directions?”
Matt and Gina exchanged glances again.
“Yeah, of course,” Matt said as he looked back at Mr. Yates.
Mr. Yates studied them for a long moment, his eyes flicking back and forth to each of them. “I mean follow directions to the letter. No questions asked.”
Gina felt that fluttering in her chest again. She had felt this was all a scam earlier, but now these questions and this big man’s expression were giving her the creeps.
“Absolutely,” Matt said.
“This is very important,” Mr. Yates said.
Gina leaned forward a little and gave Mr. Yates her “cashier’s” smile. “What exactly is this job? What directions will we have to follow to the letter with no questions asked?”
Mr. Yates sat back a little, and his chair squeaked and complained. “I will answer your question in time, Gina. But first I must tell you about a condition of this job if you are accepted.”
They waited for him to continue.
“There must be absolute secrecy.”
“Secrecy?” Gina repeated. What was this? The CIA?
“You can’t tell anyone what you will be doing,” Mr. Yates continued quickly, leaning forward again, doing that clasping-his-hands-in-front-of-him thing again. “You can’t tell anyone what you will be doing for the next two months. And you can’t tell anyone where you will be going. There will be no contact numbers given out.”
“Where would we be going?” Gina asked even though she’d already made up her mind that she wasn’t going anywhere with this creep.
“You will not be allowed to bring any kind of cell phones or computers with you,” Mr. Yates went on like Gina hadn’t even asked a question. “You will be essentially cut off from family and friends and the outside world for two months.”
Gina was ready to leave.
Matt caught her look and felt panic rising up inside of him. “But you said the pay is good,” he said quickly. “Substantial. And the work is easy.”
Mr. Yates smiled again. “Oh yes. The pay is very good. And the work is easy. As long as you follow the directions.”
“How much is the pay?” Gina asked.
“We can talk more about that after we’ve done some background checks,” Mr. Yates answered.
I smell a scam, Gina wanted to say. “You can’t give us any kind of idea about what we’ll be doing or how much money we’ll be paid?”
“I’ll tell you this much, Gina, you two are the best candidates I’ve interviewed so far.”
Gina stood up and looked at Matt. “Come on, let’s go.”
Mr. Yates got to his feet with surprising speed. “Please … wait.”
Matt begged Gina with his look. Gina turned to Mr. Yates, waiting for him to continue, but he needed to get to the point quickly or she was out of here.
“Okay. I can tell you this much.” He glanced around like there might be other people watching in his cramped little office. “The man you will be working for, my client, he’s quite famous in certain circles. And he doesn’t want any attention.”
Gina stood by her chair and nodded at Mr. Yates to continue.
“My client owns many properties around the world. He has a home in upstate New York, and he’s only there for a few months out of the year. When he’s not there, he wants a couple to take care of the place.”
There. It was out. But Gina felt confused.
“What?” she asked. “Like house-cleaning? Like a maid?”
Mr. Yates forced out a fake laugh. “No, not at all. He just wants a couple to watch the place. Water the plants and perform some minor cleaning duties. Nothing out of the ordinary. And you would have full access to the mansion.”
Matt was excited now. “Mansion? That sounds awesome. We’ll take it!”
Gina shot Matt a look.
Mr. Yates chuckled and sat back down. He gestured at the chairs like he was sure Matt and Gina were going to sit back down, like he was sure he had them hooked again.
Matt and Gina sat back down.
“Not so fast, Matt,” Mr. Yates said, a fake chuckle still rumbling from him. “We have to do some background checks and go over your questionnaires. I’m sure you understand.”
“When do we find out?”
“We’ll be in touch.”
• • •
Matt drove their car through their small coastal Massachusetts town north of Boston. He was still very excited. “Can you imagine that? Staying in a mansion for two months?”
“I don’t know. Something seems strange about this whole thing. And something definitely seems strange about that guy—Mr. Yates.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
“You don’t even know how much it is.”
“I know, but I bet it’s going to be a lot. You heard Mr. Yates; his client is rich and famous. And besides, it’s better than what I’m making right now. Wait a minute, let me add it up.” Matt pretended like he was doing some kind of elaborate calculation with is fingers in the air. “Oh yeah, that’s right—zero.”
Gina looked out the passenger window.
“You could quit your job,” Matt told her.
“I don’t know, Matt.”
“You hate it anyway.”
They drove in silence for a moment.
Matt glanced at Gina again. “What about your dream-job?”
Gina looked at Matt. “That’s not fair.”
“You want to be an interior decorator one day. What better place to study than some rich guy’s mansion? And maybe we would have enough money to get you in school.”
Gina smiled.
Matt continued quickly, sure that he was close to convincing her. “Think of all of those rooms in that mansion. Think of what you would do with that place. You could even take a notebook and art pad. Take some pictures. Do your own design portfolio.”
The idea was tempting.
“I do hate my job,” she muttered.
“So let’s go to your work right now and tell Mr. Swanson to go take a flying fuck.”
“Settle down,” Gina said like she was talking to a hyper pet. “Let’s just see if Mr. Yates calls us back first.”
• • •
When they got back to their apartment, Matt was still excited. He paced their small apartment, eyeing the phone on the wall.
Gina sat on the couch with the TV on in front of her. She turned to look at Matt in the kitchen. “Would you come and sit down? He’s not going to call today.”
Matt came into the living room (the living room and kitchen were really one room, divided from each other by the small kitchen table and lumpy couch) and plopped down beside her on the couch.
“I’ve never seen you like this,” she said and smiled at him.
Matt pulled Gina towards him and hugged her tight. “I’m sorry. I’ve just got a great feeling about this.”
And I don’t, Gina wanted to say, but didn’t.
She pushed Matt away and turned back to the TV. There was a news report on about a missing man. She grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume. An anchorwoman stared into the camera with a practiced grim and serious look as a photograph of a middle-aged man floated behind her.
“Police still have no leads on the disappearance of Scott Anderson. They are asking anyone with any information to please step forward.”
“God, they still haven’t found that guy,” Gina said.
“Nope,” Matt answered.
“How can someone just disappear like that?”
“Happens all the time,” Matt said. “You need
to be careful nowadays.”
• • •
The phone rang the next day just as Matt and Gina entered their apartment. Gina was tired from working all day and she was ready for a hot bath to warm her up.
Matt ran to the phone and grabbed it. “Hello?” he breathed into it.
He stood there listening for a long moment and Gina watched as his eyes widened in shock. He nodded quickly.
“We did?” he said into the phone. “That’s great.” Pause. “How much? You’re … you’re kidding, right?” Another long pause from Matt as he listened, gripping the phone harder than ever now. “No. No, that’s perfect.”
Gina was about to head for the bathroom, but she walked over to Matt, staring at him.
“How much did they say?” she whispered at him.
Matt glanced at her and smiled, but continued talking into the phone. “Yes, of course, sir. We can be down there in thirty minutes.” He listened on the phone for another few seconds. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Okay. Good-bye.”
Matt hung up the phone, beaming with excitement. He turned to Gina and bear-hugged her. “We got the job!” he yelled into her ear.
Gina thought of the two month old fetus inside of her who probably wasn’t enjoying the bear-hug, and she pushed Matt off of her. “How much did he say?” she asked.
“Thirty-five thousand dollars.”
For a moment Gina couldn’t say anything. Thirty-five thousand dollars? That was the answer to their prayers. And for only two months of work? By that time Matt could be back at work with the lawn crew and they would have this money saved while she took time off work to have their baby.
She thought about telling Matt right then about the baby.
But she didn’t.
“And he said we could get a small bonus up front,” Matt said.
Gina felt stunned.
• • •
Almost an hour later they were in Mr. Yates’ office again. The secretary wasn’t there this time, and Mr. Yates answered the door in the waiting room and led them to his small office.
Matt and Gina sat in the same chairs in front of his desk; they were both tense and excited and nervous.
“Everything checked out perfectly,” Mr. Yates said.
“That’s so great,” Matt said. “This is so great.” He grabbed Gina’s hand and squeezed it.
Mr. Yates pulled a drawer open in his desk and took out a bulging, white envelope. He handed it across the desk to Matt. “As promised, a small portion of the money to help you with any packing and other arrangements you need to make before we leave.”
Matt wasn’t bashful—he opened the envelope and peeked inside.
“There’s five thousand dollars in there,” Mr. Yates told him.
“Five thousand?” Matt said, and he could barely catch his breath. He handed the envelope to Gina.
She peeked inside the envelope at the crisp bills and then looked at Mr. Yates. “When are we supposed to leave?”
“A few days from now. On Friday morning. That should give you plenty of time to get your affairs in order.”
Gina cringed at his choice of words. “Like quitting my job?” she said to Mr. Yates.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” He looked at Matt. “Any other questions?”
“Will there be more opportunities in the future to watch this guy’s house?”
“Possibly. We need to see how well the first time goes.”
“What do we pack?” Gina asked. “What do we take with us?”
“Great question,” he answered. “Just the normal things. Clothes. Some bathroom supplies. I’m sorry, but there is one thing we must insist on—I’ll need to inspect your luggage to make sure you aren’t bringing any laptops, cell phones, alcohol, drugs, and so on.”
“Go through our stuff?”
“That’s okay!” Matt nearly screeched. “That’s perfectly okay. We’re not going to bring any of that stuff, but we understand if you need to make sure.”
Mr. Yates handed Matt and Gina a few papers stapled together. “This should help you out. It’s a list of things you’re not allowed to bring, and a recommendation of things for you to bring.”
They took the papers and Gina glanced over her copy.
Mr. Yates folded his big hands on the desk in front of him. “There’s plenty to do at the mansion. There will be satellite TV, a library of movies and books, three different video game systems.”
Matt nodded. “Sounds great.”
“I must warn you up front; this task could become a little boring. But you two stated that you were more introverted, so we’re betting you will do okay.”
“We’ll be fine,” Matt said. “I’ll just keep focused on the money we’ll be making.”
Mr. Yates smiled. He stood up, his bulky muscles moving underneath his suit coat. “That’s the right attitude, Matt.”
Matt and Gina stood up. Gina held the papers and envelope in her hand.
Mr. Yates’ smile disappeared quickly. “Remember—absolute secrecy. If we hear that you’ve told anyone about this, then the deal will be off.”
“And what about the money?” Gina asked, glancing down at the envelope of money in her hand.
Mr. Yates gave her a cold, hard stare. “Then I will have to come back for that.”
Gina felt a chill run through her body as they stood in the tense silence of the office.
And then Mr. Yates broke into a sudden smile like his earlier statement had been just a joke.
But Gina knew it hadn’t been a joke.
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Mr. Yates said.
“It will,” Matt said. “I promise.”
“I will call you on Thursday night. I will come by with a car Friday morning to drive you two to the mansion.”
Mr. Yates gestured at his office door as he moved out from behind his desk. “Thank you so much for coming back by.”
“No, thank you for this opportunity, sir,” Matt said.
Could you ass-kiss some more? Gina wanted to say.
Gina followed Matt out of the office. They were about to walk to the waiting room door, but Mr. Yates’s voice stopped them in their tracks.
“I’m sorry. There is one more thing I forgot to mention about this job.”
Matt and Gina turned around and stared at Mr. Yates. And Gina could feel it coming—the catch, the one thing that was going to ruin this whole opportunity, the one thing that would make all of this too good to be true.
“There are a few more conditions of this job that you should be aware of.”
“What are they?” Gina asked.
“You may find them a bit odd,” Mr. Yates said and tried his best smile on them.
2.
THE TOUR
The other conditions definitely were a bit odd, but in the end Matt talked Gina into taking a chance on this.
Gina quit her job that night, and Mr. Swanson told her she would regret it.
The next day Gina went to her doctor to have an examination. After it was over, she talked with her doctor about the trip they were going to be taking for the next two months. She wanted to know if it would be okay with the baby.
The doctor told her there should be no problems this early in her pregnancy. She should eat right, exercise moderately, try to avoid stress, and just be happy.
Gina breathed a sigh of relief. She would try this. If something happened, some kind of medical emergency, she was sure there was a plan for that in place from their new employer. It was a little bit of a risk, but the money far outweighed the risk right now. Just thinking of thirty-five thousand dollars set Gina’s mind at ease. There would be security in that kind of money.
Maybe Matt was right, maybe luck was turning its shining face their way. Maybe their break had finally come. She wished she could be more positive like Matt was. Maybe she should try.
She wanted to tell Matt about the baby. She almost told him a few times, but she felt that Matt might decide not to go to this mansion if he kn
ew she was pregnant, and then their only chance at amassing a little nest egg would evaporate. As much as Matt wanted the money, he would put her safety, and his unborn child’s safety, above that.
In the end, she decided she would wait until they were in the mansion to tell him; she would wait for the right moment, the most romantic moment. She would try this opportunity out, let loose for once, take a chance and invite a little adventure into her life.
They let their landlord know they were leaving. He wasn’t too happy about it, but they rented month-to-month anyway. They gave him an extra month’s rent to keep him happy and then they moved all of the stuff they wanted to keep into a storage unit. They left a lot of the furniture behind—hopefully they would be able to afford some better stuff soon.
• • •
Friday morning came quickly, and Matt and Gina were ready to go.
The first rays of the sun lightened the horizon beyond their small New England town as Matt and Gina made a few trips down the stairs from their third floor apartment to the brand new Jeep Cherokee waiting for them in front of their building; it was parked in the street, idling with the headlights on.
Mr. Yates got out of the Jeep and opened the hatchback. He inspected each suitcase quickly as he loaded them into the back. They only had two suitcases each and one small bag of bathroom necessities, only the stuff recommended on the list that Mr. Yates had given them.
Gina felt a little strange as this large man inspected their bags in the back of the SUV. She wondered if their neighbors might be watching this from the windows of the apartment building, but then she didn’t care. They wouldn’t be coming back here anyway.
“All good,” Mr. Yates said and beamed at Matt and Gina. “You two ready to go?”
They both nodded and Mr. Yates slammed the hatchback closed.
• • •
They drove for hours up into the mountains of upstate New York. The ground was covered with blankets of snow, but the sky was bright blue. Most of the roads were plowed and wet with melting snow.
After they got off the county road, they drove for another two hours down a two lane road that led them farther and farther out into the woods, with less and less signs of civilization.